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Hida Tool Left Handed Yanagiba

Well I was checking out there sit today and I saw that they sell yanagiba for a lefty and the price isn't an arm and a leg. Has anyone ever heard or ever used them? They are called Kanehisa and since it would be my first yanagi I wouldn't be looking to break the bank on it. So would it be a good knife to get my feet wet? Thanks again.

Well from what I've read on it, it's carbon (kind of a no brainier there) But since it would be my first yanagi I'm not looking to shell out 200 or more for a learning knife if you know what I mean. I already have a usuba and am working on that but sooner of later I would like to add a yanagi to my collection. So I'm not looking for a One knife to rule them all type but something that would last me a few and take a good edge. Thanks again.

I’m not familiar with it, but many advised me to not spend too much (or too little) on a first yanagiba and suggested starting out with no less than a white #2. As I understand it, lesser ones use lower grade steels (yellow, sk-?) that lack the touch & bleed sharpness of higher grade steels (white, blue) needed for a yanagiba to perform well. And will likely have a lower overall fit & finish and a greater chance of being fubar’d (over ground, warped, unhollowed back, etc.)

I’ve read the Tadafusa (JapanWoodWorker) mentioned as a good starter and offers an affordable left-handed version.

That is why I was rather both surprised and pleased when I saw this. I own a usuba by Hon Kasumi which if i remember right is about the same if not the same as Tadafusa. But I've seen that there knives went up about twenty or so bucks. But I'm thinking about sending them an e-mail to see what they say about it. (Now I'm not expecting they to give me a full break down but would be nice if they knew what type of steel it is. Thanks again.

As far as I can tell, the Tadafusa (JWW) and Hon Kasumi (EE) have the same kanji and maybe identical, but for some reason aren’t priced the same. If you can’t inspect the knife directly, see it they will pick out one that isn’t warped or bowed by having them rest the back of blade and blade road against a table or something. The flatter and truer the better.